Whitecloud makes the 356 Registry

If that's your guest house, when are you going to invite me over?

I got the latest issue yesterday (what a cover shot right?!) and didn't make it to page 52 yet, but sure enough, there you are! Congratulations!

So how did you submit your photos? I'd love to submit some of mine but was under the impression that the Registry tolerates us (they'll cash our checks), but stops short of promoting our cars. How does it really work?

Ryan, when I joined the Registry I registered Whitecloud as our "rust-proof" '57 Speedster, how they interpret that is up to them, I know what I meant.

When I submitted this photo for the September 17th Drive Your 356 photo shoot, I skipped the formalities and simply called it a '57 Speedster, why cloud the water?

It's funny though, in this issue, the Club Historian comments on a cover he mistakenly published years ago. It's a close-up shot of the driver's side of a Spyder (aerial view) which to his chagrin he later discovered, was a (shudder!) "kit car".

Whitecloud may be many things to many people, but he is not a kit kar!

Maybe not a kit car, but certainly not a '57 Speedster.  I am always mystified by the attraction of Porsche organizations to some members.  Groucho Marx had it right: "I would never join any club that would accept me as a member."

oh, speaking of the cover shot...my mechanic Jim Ansite, works on Tom Trabeu's acing Spyder and has built engines for his cars, mostly 4-cams. The red Denzel (pg 18) was on the lift when Whitecloud was undergoing an engine-transplant last year.

Jim was also mentioned in the article on Renee Brinkerhoff (pg 46/47) and her famous Valkyrie Racing coupe. Jim has the door off her car from the infamous wreck during the 2015 La Carrera Panamerica race, it's hanging in his shop.

Jim, as a former owner of 3 Porsches, I obviously love the brand.

I don't have a desire to spend the kind of money it takes to own one, so settled on our VS which we love.

I still love the mystique of the "real" cars and most of the "real" owners are very nice folks who accept me as an enthusiast, I can't ask for more than that.

Like Stan says: "There's plenty of room in this tent for all kinds."

Hi Will,

I think all replica owners "love the brand", so prior ownership doesn't really apply to your replica.  All of us love the brand.  That's why we drive what we do.  I also take no personal offense when replica owners try to pass their car as original.  I don't do so, and have no Porsche badging on my car, but I'm unconcerned with those who do.

But let's admit the subterfuge that accompanies the deception.  When you say above: "why cloud the water", don't you mean why complicate matters with the facts?  Your first post on this matter was an absolute Clintonesque parsing of the truth.  If it works for you, you have a healthy self-image.  For an agnostic, it would be termed moral relativism.

I get it, but most Porsche guys are really not ready for somebody like me. I'm for sure not ready for most of them. I fit better with the guys sticking V-Techs in old Minis or bolting a blower on a Flathead.

For me, the "what do you say when somebody asks what it is?" angst is an easy call-- it's a plastic clown car with a fancy lawn-mower engine. Letting the air out of the "P"-car guy all set to tear down my "fake" sets me up to just talk about the car itself, which I think is pretty cool. Almost all of them love it, but end up thinking I'm nuts for putting large chunks of time and treasure into a... what is it again?

The dudes with the 996s (or 'vettes for that matter) who look down on my car crack me up. Most of 'em couldn't change their own wiper-blades.

A guy with a '17 GTS crawled all over and under the car at a Cars and Coffee this summer and said, "I'd love to invite you to join our Porsche club, but... well...". I finished for him, "it's a mutt".

He said, "yeah" and walked off. I loved that.

I'm OK not fitting anywhere but here.

Stan Galat posted:

I get it, but most Porsche guys are really not ready for somebody like me. I'm for sure not ready for most of them. I fit better with the guys sticking V-Techs in old Minis or bolting a bower on a Flathead.

For me, the "what do you say?" angst is an easy call-- it's a plastic clown car with a fancy lawn-mower engine. Letting the air out of the "P"-car guy all set to tear down my "fake" sets me up to just talk about the car itself. Almost all of them love it, but end up thinking I'm nuts for putting "P"-car level time and treasure into a... what is it again?

A guy with a '17 GTS crawled all over and under the car at a Cars and Coffee this summer and said, "I'd love to invite you to join our Porsche club, but... well...". I finished for him, "it's a mutt".

He said, "yeah" and walked off. I loved that.

I'm OK not fitting anywhere but here.

And yet a couple of legit Porsche owners approached me at a local " cars n coffee" type of place last summer and after giving my car a good going over, urged me to move my car over to a spot beside them. I told them I didn't care who I was parked beside and gracefully declined. They weren't too happy.  

David Stroud posted:

And yet a couple of legit Porsche owners approached me at a local " cars n coffee" type of place last summer and after giving my car a good going over, urged me to move my car over to a spot beside them. I told them I didn't care who I was parked beside and gracefully declined. They weren't too happy.  

I've done that, and then wandered over to check out the sweet "Bluesmobile" cruiser.

It had a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It had cop tires and cop suspension and cop shocks. It was a model made before catalytic converters so it ran good on regular gas. It was a sweet ride.

Like Stan and David, this group of knuckleheads suits me just fine, since there's not much "fit" required to fit in.  You run what you brung.

Last fall I parked in the lot at Lowes and a German guy, about 80 years old walked over to my VS and said "that's a beautiful car".  He added that he hadn't seen very many Speedsters "since he built them in Stuttgart, Germany"  back in 1957.  I was speechless and put it off that he had gone blind in his old age.  I told him that it was a replica built in Southern California and that it was just 11 years old.  He simply said, "well, it is a beautiful car".  His age and thick German accent told me he was legit.  Now that there is a weird story---but 100% true.  I felt he truly admired the car.

I guess I have been lucky that never once have I been snubbed in an y way by a metal Porsche owner.  I feel a little twinge whenever I win a "best of Show" trophy at car show---but only a very small twinge.  And there have  been a metal Speedster owners showing at a couple of these shows too.   

Just a 100% true, fun story with no real object lesson.

I've had the same kind of experience as Jack. Also, I have so far received a very friendly reception by the local PCA guys.